[ACCIDENT] GM Test Driver Seriously Injured in Crash of a C8 Z06 at the Milford Proving Ground

The next time you climb behind the wheel of your Corvette, you might want to remember the behind-the-scenes workers at General Motors who continually risk their lives testing new models.

In fact, one such employee was badly hurt – including multiple internal injuries and third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body – after a horrific crash back in June in a 2023 Z06 at GM Proving Ground in Milford, Michigan.

The Detroit Free Press just published an in-depth story based on a report completed in late-August by the Michigan State Police.

While the report – obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request – redacted the name of the driver, the Free Press says three sources who wished to remain anonymous have told the newspaper that it was veteran employee Shawn Getty, a vehicle system integration engineer for GM for 11 years, who was behind the wheel when the crash occurred.

According to the report, the accident happened on a mostly cloudy, 73-degree, 9mph wind day when Getty started a test drive in a gray 2023 Z06 convertible on the Ride and Handling Loop, which consists of “several chatter (design) bumps, with the roadway surface having a corrugated-like (ripple) presentation.” While that type of roadway is common for test tracks and simulates roads open to the public, in disrepair, the report states there were no signs of disrepair to this track.

While no cameras were in the area of the crash, state police investigators were able to use skid marks on the road and in the grass to determine that Getty crashed into a tree, with the Corvette subsequently splitting in half and catching on fire. As you might expect on a test track, excessive speed was listed as a contributing factor, though the report did not specify a reason for that high speed. The crash happened at 10:42 a.m., and one minute later, the OnStar Security Team was notified. By 10:44 a.m., GM had been notified of the accident, prompting a response from the proving ground’s emergency team, according to the report.

“Maintenance/grounds personnel observed smoke from the fire and eventually located the driver of the vehicle, who had suspectedly crawled from the wreckage site to the roadway’s edge,” the report stated, noting that he had suffered “critical injuries” and had to be airlifted to a Michigan hospital.

According to the report, the Z06 being driven by Getty had undergone a complete vehicle software update ahead of the “standard procedure test drive,” adding that “It was advised the update completed was not unique in the sense that it was a prototype; it was already in production vehicles and currently in vehicles being operated on the open roadways.”

The driver’s sister, Danielle Getty, said in a GoFundMe page created on July 10 that “Shawn has a long road ahead of him to any type of recovery. In the best-case scenario, he will be in the ICU for at least 3-4 months and then may transfer to a live-in care facility for rehabilitation. We don’t know what to expect for his life and if he will be able to overcome this tragedy, but his family is committed to supporting him through all that he will need.”

The GoFundMe page has raised $17,040 for Getty. On the page, the family added this statement: “Right now, Shawn’s family has traveled from out of state to be with him on a daily basis making medical decisions on his behalf and helping to keep his life in order until he is healed. We, as his family, welcome any donations and prayers for Shawn to assist with any future recovery efforts. Shawn has wonderful friends and people that love him. Together, we can give him the strength to overcome all that lies ahead.”

The Detroit Free Press ran a series earlier this year about the GM Proving Ground, with company officials talking about the extensive training and safety protocols in place for test drivers. While eight people have nevertheless been killed over the past 98 years, Frank Taverna, retired GM senior manager of traffic safety at Milford Proving Ground and Desert Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona, told the newspaper that GM’s accident rate at the facilities is half that of the national average on public roads. “We feel that’s really good because we’re doing test driving,” Taverna said, “and so people are doing more risky stuff at higher speeds with vehicles that are not fully developed yet.”

Source:
The Detroit Free Press

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